About Venice
by Gates Hepburn
Summary: A "Full Circle" addition it is not necessary to have read the book . Janeway and Chakotay have a conversation about Venice.


Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine, I'm just giving them a moment they were missing.

A/N: This can be classified as a _Full Circle_ addition and it does contain spoilers. A year is an awfully long time to wait, I'm sure they had many conversations in between. Thanks to KB for a fantastic book and for giving J/C their moment.

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**About Venice**

By Gates Hepburn

Chakotay was seated at the desk in his quarters going over the most boring reports he thought he'd ever encountered in his life when his communicator beeped.

"_Captain Chakotay, there's a transmission from Admiral Janeway to you."_

A call from Kathryn could always put a smile on his face and right now, it was a very welcome diversion, "Put it through to my quarters please, Ensign."

The sight of Kathryn lounged on her bed instantly filled his screen. She must have had the comm. placed on the pillows next to her.

"_Chakotay!"_ Kathryn's face lit up as soon as she saw him.

"To what do I owe the pleasure? Isn't it about 03:30 there?"

"_I couldn't sleep."_

"Lot on your mind?"

"_Too much."_

"Did you want to talk about it?"

"_I wish, but I really can't. I really just wanted to hear your voice."_ She leveled him a lopsided smirk and eyes pleading with him to not ask more before continuing, _"Chakotay?"_

"Hmmm?"

"_Will you tell me a story?"_

"A story?" he was surprised by the request.

"_Yes. Tell me about Venice."_

He knew what she was asking of him now, she wanted reassurance that his feelings hadn't changed. He'd still have to tease her a bit. "Well, Venice is a city in the northeast of Italy, on a lagoon of—"

_"Very funny. Tell me about what will happen when we go to Venice."_

"Ah, well. You should have been more specific," his smile was full of mischief and his eyes twinkled with delight. "When we go to Venice is definitely a different--better bedtime story."

"_I hope so."_ She smiled at his mock-chagrined look and nestled closer into her pillows and blankets.

"We will meet at the café and you will take my breath away like you always do, when you walk in wearing that blue robe—"

"_The blue robe? I can't believe you remember that one."_

"It's always been my favorite. You'll arrive in the blue robe with your hair half up, half down falling lightly over your shoulders."

"_What will you be wearing?"_

"I'll have on that suit I wore to the last Prixin celebration. The one you always think is new when you see it.

We'll exchange a tight hug and then I'll pull out your chair and we'll sit together at our table. Quiet at first as we both take each other in. A year is a long time after all."

"_Too long."_

They looked into each others eyes before he continued, "Then I'll poor us both some Merlot that I had already ordered before you arrived and had it chilling on the table. Then the waiter will ask us for our food order and we will both ask for the eggplant parmesan.

As we wait for our meal we will catch each other up on Tom's latest antics as XO and Doc's newest name decisions, new babies and weddings, postings and promotions. Your hand will be in mine, neither one of us sure how it got there and we'll also talk about what our futures will hold in our life together.

We'll eat our meal, but you'll tell me that my eggplant parmesan is better—"

"_That's awfully presumptuous."_

He smirked at her before continuing, "You've always said my eggplant parmesan was the best in the galaxy. It doesn't matter though, I probably won't hear you because I'll be too busy watching as you innocently take forkfuls of food off my plate, even though you have the exact same meal on your dish."

"_Purely for the sake of scientific inquiry."_

He had to smile at the fact that she didn't deny that action and went on, "We'll finish dinner and as the music starts for a slow song I'll ask you to dance and you'll agree. I'll lead you to the floor where you'll settle into my arms like you were made for them. Your head will be on my chest and my hands around your waist and I'll whisper to you how much I love you and—"

"_And I'll tell you how much I love you too."_

"Hey, who's telling this story?" he teased.

"_Sorry… do go on."_

"I love you Kathryn."

"_I love you too, Chakotay."_

"So I'll tell you how much I love you and you'll do the same or at least you'll try to but my lips will be on yours and it will come out as a bunch of muffled words and giggles but I'll know what they mean.

We will have to use all our will power to pull apart from each other as to not make fools of ourselves in such a public place and wind up on the headline on some news rag. We'll head back to the table to collect our belongings and settle up the tab. We won't be staying for dessert—"

"_Wait a second… I won't get dessert?"_

"Not at the café."

"_But I hear their chocolate mousse is out of this world."_

"We won't stay for dessert, but we'll ask for some chocolate mousse to go."

"_Thank you."_

"You're welcome."

"_I didn't get dessert last time either."_

"Are you complaining?"

"_No. Never. I rather liked what we did instead."_ Her voice carried a lilt and her grin was nothing if not wicked.

"We'll grab our dessert to go and go back to the rooms I had arranged for us—"

"_Arranged rooms for us? Do you really think I'm that easy, Chakotay?"_

"Easy? No, but I had it on good authority from a certain admiral after her last visit that we'd need them." They exchanged a look and smiled, both remembering her declaring that he be sure to make the arrangements. It could almost be classified as an order.

"We'll go to our rooms and once in the door we will pick up where we left off on the dance floor. Our passion will soon surmount what it was and I'll lift you into my arms and carry you into the bedroom where I will lay you on the bed and we will make love all night long. Mapping out and exploring each others bodies, getting to know them again in the ways we did that night at Proxima station and learning new ways that we didn't have the chance to before your shuttle had to depart.

We'll both have the next day off which is good because we won't leave the bedroom, except to share the large tub. I'll poor us some champagne and we'll eat strawberries. We might even get to eat that chocolate mousse that spent the night untouched in it's stasis chamber because by then we will be very famished from our passionate encounters."

"_Mmmm, it sounds so perfect."_

"The love making, the tub or the chocolate mousse?"

"_All of the above."_

It did sound perfect and he longed to be there now.

"After our bath we will dry off and retreat back to the bed where we will try and get our first real rest. You'll spoon up against me with your head on my chest, so close I'll be able to smell the sweet scent of your hair and I'll put my arm around you, holding you as close to me as I can without hurting you.

I'll stroke your hair and kiss your forehead and gently hum an old song my father used to sing to my mother. Then I'll whisper to you again of all my love and about just how lucky I am to have you in my life and my heart." He met her eyes and held them as they smiled before she closed them and settled deeper into her pillows.

"I'll feel your breathing change on my chest and know that you have fallen asleep.

I'll just stay there like that and watch you for a bit, I always love to watch you so at peace and so beautiful and I will until I succumb to sleep myself. And then when—" he noticed then that Kathryn had fallen asleep on the other side of the comm. line.

He watched her sleep for a while; listened to the gentle rhythm of her breathing and remembered how it felt to hold her in the brief time they had together after they had made love and just before she had to catch her shuttle back to Earth.

He whispered to her, "I wish I was there to hold you now, Kathryn. I love you. Sweet dreams." He kissed his fingertips and pressed them to her image on the comm. screen before terminating the connection and getting back to his reports.

He had a lot of work still to do, but he would not have given up this conversation for anything. He hoped that sleep would find him as pleasantly and he could be sure his dreams would be sweet.

The End


End file.
